Group A of the 2014 FIBA World Cup is living up to the hype. On Sunday, the match between France and Serbia went down to the wire. The French came out on top with a late free throw by Joffrey Lauvergne that put them over the top and avoided the possibility of an 0-2 start to group play.
FIBA World Cup 2014 results: USA wins, France-Serbia goes down to the wire
The Americans finally figured out Turkey, but the game of the day was played between France and Serbia in the group of death.
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Meanwhile, the Americans survived a difficult game plan by Turkey, and Croatia and Argentina went blow-for-blow as Luis Scola scored 30 points in a losing effort.
Here’s a look at the complete results from Sunday. For a more visual look at group standings through two days of action, take a peek at the FIBA website.
Group A
France 74, Serbia 73: Suns draft pick Bogdan Bogdanovic turned the ball over with five seconds left and a 73-all tie, and France got to the foul stripe on a final possession to steal a game and move to 1-1 in Group A play. Joffrey Lauvergne led France with 19 and hit the game-winner. NBA forwards Nicolas Batum and Boris Diaw added 11 and four points, respectively. Miroslav Raduljica led Serbia (1-1 in group play) with 21 points.
Brazil 79, Iran 50: Brazil gave its regular rotation players a solid rest in a rout a day before it squares off against Group A favorite Spain. Leandro Barbosa scored 11 and Tiago Splitter put in 10 in less than 20 minutes of play each. Spain and Brazil sit atop Group A with 2-0 records.
Spain 91, Egypt 54: Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka scored 18 to go with eight rebounds as Spain cruised. Pau Gasol scored 12, Marc Gasol scored eight and Ricky Rubio tallied seven assists. Egypt dropped to 0-2 in the very difficult Group A.
Group B
Croatia 90, Argentina 85: Croatia couldn't stop Argentinian forward Luis Scola, but it didn't matter. The Pacers big man finished with 30 points and nine rebounds in a losing effort. Sixers draft pick Dario Saric helped Croatia with 16 points and nine rebounds despite reportedly losing six teeth, and Nets swingman Bojan Bogdanovic added another 16. Scola's new Pacers teammate, Damjan Rudez, hit two threes to finish with six points. Argentina is now 1-1 in Group B, while Croatia moved to 2-0 to keep pace with Greece.
Greece 82, Philippines 70: Georgios Printezis scored 25 points in Greece's victory. Grizzlies guard Nick Calathes scored nine, while Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo added three points and six rebounds in limited minutes. Andray Blatche scored 21 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for the Philippines.
Senegal 82, Puerto Rico 75: Gorgui Dieng and Senegal surprised Puerto Rico, which suddenly finds itself 0-2 in Group B and at risk of missing the Round of 16. Dieng, the Timberwolves forward, scored 18 and grabbed 13 rebounds. Renaldo Balkman scored 21 for Puerto Rico, and T-Wolves guard J.J. Barea finished with 15 points and four assists.
FIBA World Cup
Group C
USA 98, Turkey 77: The final score doesn't illustrate how much trouble Team USA had. The Americans needed 22 points from Kenneth Faried and another 19 from Anthony Davis to break away from Turkey after trailing by five points at halftime. USA finally sped the game up to pull away, but not before Turkey's Omer Asik and his crew did some damage. Turkey fell to 1-1 in Group C action.
Finland 81, Ukraine 76: Finland recovered nicely from a blowout against the United States and dropped Ukraine to improve to 1-1 in Group C. Shawn Huff scored 23 points for Finland, while American-born Pooh Jeter led Ukraine with 24 points and nine assists.
Dominican Republic 76, New Zealand 63: Francisco Garcia led the Dominican Republic with 29 points and added six boards to give the team a rebound win after losing its Group C opener. New Zealand got 22 points from Thomas Abercrombie but finds itself in trouble with an 0-2 record so far.
Group D
Lithuania 75, Angola 62: Toronto Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas scored 11 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for 2-0 Lithuania, and Rockets forward Donatas Motiejunas led the team in scoring with 12. Eduardo Mingas led Angola with 14 points and nine boards.
Slovenia 89, Mexico 68: Goran Dragic went an efficient 6-for-8 from the floor with 18 points and six assists in Slovenia's second win in two tries. Dragic's brother, Zoran, added 22 on a perfect 8-for-8 shooting outing. Gustavo Ayon scored 23 points by hitting all nine shots in the loss for Mexico.
Australia 89, Korea 55: Matthew Dellavedova dished out eight dimes, Joe Ingles scored 17 and Aron Baynes added 13 points for the Australians, who recovered from an opening loss to Slovenia. Jazz rookie Dante Exum scored four in 13 minutes. Korea, meanwhile, lost its second game of two.
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